Mausoleum of the Messiah
The Emperox’s body is entombed in the Mausoleum of the Messiah on Imperial Prime. Each House has a section for their Emperox, it is maintained by Neshmet of House Lyra and guarded by an Aquilan Honour Guard. Each House of has a section, regardless of their having a previous emperox or not. These sections tell the story of each house, of their integrity, of their traits and stories, for when an emperox is finally laid to rest in their section of the Mausoleum. The sections usually hold symbolic objects of their accomplishments or personal objects of theirs. The Houses House Crux Beyond titanic doors of black granite, the atrium of the Crucian tomb looms in darkness. The circular chamber remains permanently cold and lit only by a roaring fire in the center. As the eyes adjust, the flickering light illuminates empty theater seating, seemingly carved out of the rock, crowned by an empty judge's pulpit looking out over the fire. From the pulpit, a model of the scales of justice watches silently. The seating rises up towards the back of the room where the towering words Ours To Bear have been inlaid in gold, encircling the room. On opposite sides of the atrium, alcoves housing the sarcophagi of the two Crux emperoxs- mother and son- stand facing each other. The sarcophagus of the Mother of Mercy bears a carving of the Empress upon it, as a robed matronly woman with a blindfold over her missing eyes. At the base read the words: Herein Lie the Mortal Remains of the Messiah Empress Crux Helena Immortal in Mercy, Merciful in Immortality Across the chamber stands her son's sarcophagus. It is decorated in a similar fashion, showing the Emperor at the end of his reign- regal, bearded, clad in invincible armor and crowned by a halo of fire. His words read: Herein Lie the Mortal Remains of the Messiah Emperor Crux Alexandron A Light in the Darkness, From Here To Eternity House Cygnus House Fornax House Vela The Velan section of the Mausoleum of the Messiah is mainly a memorial for the crews lost during The Rebuilding. Plain tiles of black marble line the walls and the names of all the ship crews, who sacrificed their lives to recreate the map of Acheron Rho after the Scream, are displayed upon them. In the middle of the section dedicated to House Vela is a holo-projection of the Shining Star in muted Velan Blue. Interacting with the hologram provides the visitor with a short biography of the former Emperox and the opportunity to download some of their most famous speeches and poetry readings. House Aquila The Aquilan section is a wide open, rectangular room with the outer walls inscribed with tales of battle, conquest and glory from throughout the Empire’s history. Each scene is framed by elaborate arches, and the room is lit by a dozen fire bowls emitting their dim and flickering light casting wandering and haunting shadows over the empty room. This place tells the story of pride and loss, of honor and shame. The rise of the Eagle and its downfall. The room offers two alcoves at the left and right sides and ends in an archway to a smaller room. Engraved on the entranceway is warning written in latin "Be aware of the past, lest it repeat". In this room lay an unmarked and unadorned sarcophagus made of black stone surrounded by a sea of three rings of ice shining and emitting a light blue light, flora emitting a green light and fire casting its orange reddish tones. The ashes of the Aquilan Empress rest in this coffin and a on a small sign is written her name in one of the few places in the whole Empire: “Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari, Hope and curse of the Empire.” House Eridanus A large three-sided room with a vaulted ceiling opens out from dark Tiberian wood doors that carved with the motto “In The Black.” A large black triangular stone pyramid, silhouetted by a churning waterfall, fills much of the space. At the base of the cataract, a pool of amethyst water is collected and flows through channels in the white and black marbled floor and flank the dark centerpiece. Nearly a millennium of use has lead to several cracks in the floor however solid gold cement glues the room together. Alcoves are formed by obsidian columns hold up the immense ceiling and provide spaces for urns of many notable Eridanii who can trace their lineage to the second Emperox of Acheron Rho to rest. Empress Juliana’s Sarcophagus In the center of the Eridanii wing, a large black triangular sarcophagus dominates the space Around its edge an inscription of the achievements of Juliana’s reign and the dawn of the empire’s golden age is written in an elegant hand. The stone lid, which has been welded with pre-scream tools, is inlaid with a gold script describing the life of the Messiah. The Second Emperox’s ashes are believed to be held within the dark rock but all attempts to see through it with x-rays, seismic sensors and other technologies leave many guessing if her body is even enclosed. Patrons of the mausoleum are encouraged to pour water from the pool over the tomb and collect it from the bottom in Midas bowls. The reclaimed water is believed to provide good luck financially if one washes their hands with it. The power is said to only work if the individual who pours and collects the water uses it. Held in a secure case below the amethyst pool at the far side of the room is a tarnished silver coin which is believed to the Empress’ funerary coin placed on her mouth in the days following her death. House Lyra The House Lyra section of the Mausoleum of the Messiah is a testament to the values and aesthetics of House Lyra. As someone enters the room they are faced with the back wall, covered in one giant mural depicting an ever changing face, a person with no distinct features, all is known that the person in this mural is beautiful, to anyone who sees it. On the rest of the walls are oil paintings, using the Lyran technique of memory painting the high points of the Emperox’s reign are literally embedded for all to remember In the centre of the room is the tomb. It is inlaid with countless gems and precious rock, within lies the Masked One, the sole Emperox of House Lyra. They lie within their tomb, embalmed and preserved according to Lyran funeral practices. Close by are the urns that hold the ashes of the heart and the brain of the Masked One, awaiting their turn to be worn by the next honoured Lyran. House Pyxis The Mausoleum wing for House Pyxis has been thoroughly prepared for the eventual entombing of the first Pyxis Emperox. Above the entrance way lies a plaque which reads the following “And here we commit the brightest of us, those who lead the way for all members of House Pyxis. May their memory be a star to guide us.” The first room of the chamber is a foyer of sorts. There is a space for Pyxis to leave their best stories, to be recorded and preserved alongside the tombs which accepts all kinds of records from physical paper written records to digital texts and audio recordings. There is also space for trinkets and souvenirs to be left in and stickers are encouraged to be left on the walls. Complimentary tea is also available to visitors in this area as it is a place for discussion and joy. The main chamber however is a much more serious area. The walls and floors are an impenetrable blackness akin to the void of space. The only light comes from stars which are embedded into the walls and holographic images of nebulae mean to show the vast emptiness and beauty of space. The center of the room holds a projection of Lodestone in all it’s glory. The empty sarcophagi are carved from rock extracted from Lodestone so show that no matter how far a Pyxis may travel in life, their spirit will always return home to House Pyxis in the end. The room is kept cold and gravity is lowered to better represent the void of space with the walls of the room being designed to absorb sound to help add to the atmosphere. House Reticulum The House Reticulum section is not unlike a shrine. It’s elegant, and old; smooth grey stone and a large garden surround the actual gravestone itself. It’s teeming with natural life, a fish pond, grass, trees. They all come together to make this an peaceful and elegant place. When you enter, you are greeted by a large, wooden gate with two stone statues stand watch. Written on the gate in the common tongue of the empire, it says “For Honor, we go.” Then, you cross over a small bridge to the landmass at the center of the room. Listening to the gentle sounds of the pond under the bridge, you can kneel at the Emperox’s grave, and read the inscribed wooden boards fanned behind the stone. They read as summary of the Emperox’s life, added throughout the Emperox’s reign. Recouting great deeds, stories and legends, and perhaps, even lessons. These are saved digitally when the new Emperox is memorialized here, so that they are never forgotten. When the Emperox is buried, there are a few traditions that are honored. The first is that six coins are placed on their headstone to honor whatever comes in the after. Second is that their favored weapon is laid to rest on their gravestone, living with their wielder in life, and following them in death. And lastly, the shrine is closed to ward off evil spirits from visiting this holy place, allowing the good spirits to remain undisturbed in their eternal slumber. House Serpens House Triangulum The House Triangulum section of the Mausoleum is architecturally clean with a complex web of etched geometry and patterns leading to a podium where Triangulum would house a future Emperox. The walls in this chamber are covered by intricate holographic scenes, powered by proprietary eternal power-cells as they should never dim or fade with time as long as the Acheron Empire stands. Expressed in these holographic dioramas are scenes of House Triangulum’s past, massive terraforming efforts and other grand projects of Triangulum of old and the present. At the podium, there is an empty slate where a future Triangulum Emperox’s words would be immortalized in meaning and spirit. The High Church of the Emperox as Messiah The Main Cathedral of the High Church of Messiah-As-Emperox is nearby on Imperial Prime. Pilgrims will often visit the mausoleum after a church service, to be led on a tour of the Emperox by the attending Neshmet. The High Church makes generous donations from the tithes of these pilgrims to House Lyra for their esteemed work maintaining the bodies of the Messiahs. Payment is not required, however many pilgrims are driven by their faith (and social expectations and pressures) to donate generously. Category:Imperial Prime Category:Houses Major Category:Houses Minor Category:Funeral Traditions